14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists have recently determined that people who have difficulties reducing the amount of cigarettes they smoke each day, or who cannot quit the habit, may have their efforts hampered by their genes. The team identified three genetic mutations that appear to be directly linked to the number of cigarettes smokers light up daily. Additional mutations were also found to play an instrumental part in dictating an individual's predisposition to pocking up the habit in the first place, the BBC News reports.
In a paper published in the latest issue of the highly-regarded scientific journal Nature Genetics, researchers publish three studies on the link between genetics and smoking. The data used in these investigations were collected from a total of 140,000 participants, and so the conclusions could be relevant for the general population. The work builds on a previous study, published some two years ago, which demonstrated a close link between a minor change in the genetic code and a person's risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, and developing lung cancer.
Experts highlight the fact that smokers should not be discouraged from attempting to quit the habit by the new study. Therapies that will be custom-designed for each individual are still many years away from being introduced in the healthcare system. The research manager of the public health charity ASH, Amanda Sandford, said that “Smokers who want to quit should not wait for treatment tailored to their genetic make-up. There is an abundance of advice and treatments available already to help people stop smoking.”
The new work was conducted by investigators from the University of North Carolina, in the US, the Oxford University, in the UK, and the Icelandic company deCODE. Researchers say that one of the main reasons why they conducted this study is the fact that they knew smoking is more harmful to a distinct subgroup of the population consuming cigarettes. The genetic mutations increase susceptibility to lung cancer risk, and therefore gaining more insight into the correlation is very important. Though smoking is bad for everyone, “it is even worse for some, and our discoveries continue to strengthen our ability to identify who those people are and give them a compelling reason to quit,” says the executive chairman of deCODE, Dr Kari Stefansson.